Sliding roof for motor vehicles



Mardi 6, 1934. w BA|ER 1,950,371

SLIDING ROOF FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Sept. 14. 1932 Y 4 Sheets-Sheet lfly/z /f )M /MM I' i@ f Y T 19 mljL il] mi.; I Illia" MLM XZ; nu# 26 9if l 292? 33 q 27 25 I A25 @I 57 i 54 x j 2 'n E 1f i I 26 i f3 f g Eli5 /z/ i ,L 2

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March 6, 1934. w. BAIER SLIDING ROOF FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed sept. 14.1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 6, 1934. w BAlER 1,950,371

SLIDING ROOF FOR MOTOR VEHICLES V Filed Sept. 14, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4Il; llflll/ fllffllllln n UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE v 1,950,371SLIDING ROOF FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Wilhelm Baier, Stockdorf, near Munich,Germany Application September 14, 1932, Serial No. 633,149 In GermanyNovember 28, 1931 3 Claims. (Cl. 296-137) This invention relates to asliding roof for gutter. In the front end of the frame a transmotorvehicles in which a plurality of hoops are verse beam 10 is ixed, towhich the first or foreguided in U-shaped guides on both sides of arecmost transverse hoop 7 is detachably connected tangular roofaperture, which hoops are conwhen closing the sliding roof. Thistransverse nected to a foldable roofing material, the front beam 10 andthe transverse arm 4 of the frame Q0 hoop being constructed as closinghoop and adaptare provided with water gutters 11 and 12 respeced to beconnected to a transverse beam of the tively. When the roof is arrangedfor opening aperture for the purpose of closing the sliding towards thefront, the transverse beam and roof. The invention consistssubstantially in the closing hoop are at the rear end of the roof l0that, for the purpose of the free sliding of the roof, aperture. Whenthe roof is to open both towards g5 the hoops have horizontal rollersrunning within the front and rear, the transverse beam 10 is the twoU-shaped guides and bearing laterally arranged in the longitudinalcentre of the roof outside the U-shaped guides, on a slide guide, andaperture and two closing hoops are arranged one that the closing hoop,serving for eiecting the on each side of the beam. The sliding roof isl5 opening and closing of the roof, is constructed as opened andclosedby the closing hoop 7, which is 10 carriage with roller supportsprojecting at right always situated nearest the transverse beam )10,angles on both sides at its two ends. Moreover, and the roof isconstructed in a particular manin the closing hoop a fixing device istted having ner in order to prevent binding and jamming. a lock in thelongitudinal centre of the hoop, by The U-shaped guides 5 and 6 areprovided on their means of which lock a rod system extending toinnerarms, that is the arms situated nearer the u" wards both ends of theclosing hoop can be pressed roof aperture, with a slide guide 13 and 14respecagainst the slide guides of the hoop in opposition tively, theseslide guides being produced in that to the action oi springs, so thatthe hoop can be the edge of the groove is bent inwards at an angle iiXedin any position on its slide guides. and rolled to form a longitudinalbead. All the An embodiment of the invention is illustrated hoops bearand slide at their ends on these lonso" by way of example in theaccompanying drawgitudinal beads 13 and 14. The inner arms of ings inwhich: the U-shaped guides or channels having the guide VFig. l showsthe sliding roof in top plan view beads 13 and 14 respectively arehigher than the with the rooiing material omitted. The remainouter arms,so that rain fiowing in from the outer ing figures are on a largerscale. side is conducted into the channels by the inner 85 Fig. 2 is asection through the closing hoop arms thereof. taken on line II-Il ofFigs. 1 and 3. The hoops 8 are so-called guide hoops, be-

Fig. 3 is a part top plan View of Fig. 2. tween which the folds of. theroofing material Fig. 4 is a part section on line IV-IV of Fig. 3. form.A so called folding hoop 9 is situated be- Fig. 5 is apart sectionthrough the closing tween every two guide hoops. These folding 90 hooptaken on line V-V of Fig. l. hoops 9 are likewise connected to theroofing ma- Fig. 6 is atop plan view of Fig. 5. terial and cause abulging and folding over in Fig. V'I is a longitudinal 560151011 O aguide hoop outward direction of the folds of the roofing mataken on lineVII-VII of Fig. l. teriai 15, in lifting from the slide guides 5 and 6.

40 Fg- 8 iS a 130D plan View 0f Fg- '7- The guide hoops 8 and also thefolding hoops9 95 Fig. 9 S a CTOSS SGCOII 0n line X--IX 0f are made ofchannel metal bars, on the wide web Fig- 3 of which the roofing material15 is xed, and the F1gl0 1 5 a' CTOSS SeCtOn 0n im@ X-X of Fig; 3 armends of these hoops 8 and 9 are bent inwards Flg 11 1S a lngltudmalSectlon of the foldmg as shown in Figs. 9 and 12. Thus, the stabilityhoop taken on Ime XLFXI of Flg' l' of the hoops is attained with smallerdimensions,

Fgll 12 1s a' Cross Sect-lon on Ime XII-XII of and moreover the roundededges of the folding Fig. 13 is a cross section on line XIII-XIII ofhoops 9 prevent damaging of the roofing mate' Fig 11. rial surroundingthe U-arms when the folds are A Awooden frame 1, 2 3, 41S fitted in arectangw being formed. In each of the ends of the hoops 105 lar aperturein the roof of the Vehicle. The two 8 and 9 straps 16 and 17respectively are rolled longitudinal bars 1 and 2 carry u-shaped guidesand pressed The hoops bear and slide on the 5 and 6 respectively whichserve both for guiding longitudinal beads 13 and 14 0f the Channels byYtransverse hoops "I, 8, 9 connected to foldable means 0f these Straps-A COVer bal' 18 made 0f roofing material and at the same time as Waterrubber plOVded on the edges of the fOldable IOO- 110" ing material andcovering the guides 5, 6 is xed on the ends of the hoops.

The guide hoops 8 carry on the ends of their straps 16 guide rollers 19running horizontally in 5 the guides 5 and 6 respectively, and on thestraps 16 a lower strap 20 (Fig. 7) is also arranged with a spring 21 insuch a manner that the lower strap 20 is pressed from below by means ofits spring 21 on to the longitudinal beads 13 and 14 of the U-guides 5and 6 respectively. The vertical guiding of the hoops 8 is eiected bymeans of this upper strap 16 and lower strap 20. The lower straps 20also carry at the same time the edge of the foldable lining material 22in the interior of the vehicle. The edge of this lining material extendslaterally over a reinforced cloth strip 23 rigidly connected to thelateral frame arms 1 and 2. The closing hoop '7 consists of a woodenbar, which has on each end a strap 24 downwardly bent into the guides 5and 6 respectively. The lateral rubber cover bars 18 on the roof-lngmaterial 15 are rigidly connected to these straps 24. Ineach of theU-guides 5 and 6 the downwardly bent part of the strap 24 carriescarrier element 25 projecting at right angles on both sides directedtowards the hoop and having each a horizontal guide roller 26 on eachend running in the U-guides on both walls, so that the hoops form acarriage with four horizontal rollers. As these four rollers bearagainst both walls of the U- shaped guides, binding or jamming of thecarriage in the event of one sided pull or push being exerted on thehoops is prevented. The rollers 26 and the carriers 25 lie so low downin the guides 5 and 6, that they are not in the way of rollers 19 of theguide hoop 8. Consequently, the closing hoop 7 can be pushed close tothe adjacent guide hoop 8 when completely opening the roof. Moreover theclosing hoop, owing to the two-sided arrange- 0 1ment of the rollercarrier 25, can be employed in the same way without alteration whetherthe roof is slidable towards the rear, iront or middle. The guide strap24 carries on its under side at each end of the closing hoop a hingedoscillatable nwangle strap 27 which partly surrounds from be- #low thelongitudinal bead 13 or 14 of the guides 5` and 6 respectively and ispressed thereon by means of a weak spring 28. This spring 28 only servesto prevent the angle strap 27 from swing- 501 ing off the bead 13 or 14.The spring 28 is not @rigidly connected to the angle strap 27 and astrong second spring 29 bears on to the spring 28, and the two springsare connected by a device by means of which the closing hoop can befixed in any adjusted position. At each end of the "-"ihoop a thrust rod31 embedded in a lateral longitudinal groove 30 of the hoop is connectedto each hoop. These thrust rods 31 are united in a lock in thelongitudinal middle of the hoop. This ()A lock consists of a rotaryhandle 32. On the under side or the closing hoop the pivot pin of thehandle carries a disc 33 in a horizontal slot in the hoop. Twodiametrically opposite pins 34, 35 are mounted on this disc 33, a curvedlink 36 or 37 is .mounted at one end of each of the pins 34, 35; vvtheselinks are hingedly connected at their other end to the thrust rods 31 sothat the two links engage one over the other on the disc whereas, iftheV disc 33 is turned through a half revolution, the position of thepins on the disc is reversed and ""the two links are in alinement. Thus,the two thrust rods 31 are. pushed outwards and press with their outerends so strongly against the double springs 28, 29 of the angle strap 27that this latter is pressed tightly against the longitudinal beads 13,14 of the U-shaped guides thereby fixing the closing hoop. The slidingroof can be opened to any desired extent by this arrangement and xed inany adjusted position. This iixing of the closing hoop prevents the hoopfrom rattling when the Vehicle is travelling, the same objections beingovercome in the case of the guide hoops 8 by means of the springs 21.

I claim:-

1. A sliding roof for motor vehicles, comprising in combination with theroof of the vehicle having a rectangular aperture, U-shaped guides onthe longitudinal edges of the aperture in said roof, a plurality ofguide hoops, folding hoops and a closing hoop, the ends of said closinghoop being downwardly bent at an angle, the downwardly bent endsprojecting in said U-shaped guides and having supports projecting atright angles on both sides, horizontal guide rollers one on each end ofsaid carrier, said rollers tting between the walls of said U-shapedguides, and' being higher than the outer and its upper edge bent downhorizontally in inward direction towards the middle of the roof andterminating in a tubular bead, slide straps on each end of eachA hoopand engaging around the longitudinal bead on said U-shaped grooves fromabove and'below, horizontal guide rollers on the end of the upper slidestraps of said guide hoops and said closing hoop, said rollers fittingin said U-shaped guides, and a carrier projecting on both sides on theends of the upper slide straps of said closing'h'oop 'i and carrying atits ends the guide roller of `said closing hoop.

3. A sliding roof for motor vehicles, comprising in combination with theroof of the vehicle having a rectangular aperture, U-shaped guideson'the longitudinal edges of the aperture of said roof, a plurality ofguide hoops, folding hoops and a closing hoop, the inner wall of saidguides being higher than the outer and its upper edge being benthorizontally inwardstowards the middle of the roof and terminating in atubular bead,v slide straps on each Yend of each of said 'hoops engagingfrom above and below around said beads on said U-shaped guides, thelower slide straps on said closing hoop being hingedly mounted on eachend thereof, springs pressing said lower straps against said beads,means for increasing the pressure exerted by said springs and clampingsaid hingedly mounted slide straps against said longitudinal beads,horizontal guide rollers "f on the ends of said guide hoops and of saidclosing hoop, fitting in said U-shaped guides, a; carrier projecting atright angles on both sides from each end one of said guide rollers.

WILHELM BAIER.'

